Amy Poehler to Host 'SNL' Season Premiere; 4 Join The NBC Show As Featured Players

NBC just announced that Saturday Night Live alum Amy Poehler will host the 36th season premiere of the latenight sketch show on September 25 with musical guest Katy Perry. The network also confirmed that Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah will join the cast of SNL as featured players. Poehler, who spent 8 years on SNL before segueing to primetime as the star of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, follows in the footsteps of fellow recent SNL alum and current NBC series star, Poehler’s former Weekend Update co-anchor Tina Fey, who also returned to SNL as host. Here is more background on SNL‘s new featured players: Vanessa Bayer joins the cast of SNL from iO Chicago, The Annoyance, and The Second City. Paul Brittain is a veteran of the iO Theater in Chicago where he performed as a member with numerous improv and sketch groups. Taran Killam hails from Los Angeles, where he established his comedy career as a main company member of The Groundlings, performing with numerous improv and sketch groups, and also appearing in The Groundlings’ Sunday company. Originally from Virginia, Jay Pharoah honed his performing skills in community theater and at local comedy clubs. No official word yet on who besides Will Forte would be leaving SNL, with last year’s addition Jenny Slate rumored as a possibility.